April ISM Falls, Prices Paid At Highest Since July 2008, "No Commodities Down In Price"

The April ISM is out, and while it confirms last week's declining Chicago PMI data and the fact that the Japanese contraction has not even remotely impacted US businesses yet (and it will), the recent weakness predicted by various Fed diffusion indices is being confirmed. The ISM came at 60.4, a decline from 61.2 in March, primarily a a result of a fall in Production (-5.2), New Orders (-1.6) Supplier Deliveries (2.9) and Imports (-1.0). All of these metrics will drop far more once the Japanese contraction is truly appreciated. On the other hand, inventory restocking is still working its artificial growth miracles, rising by 6.2 to 53.6. Yet the most important metric as always remains the Price Paid, which after rising once again from 85.0 to 85.5, above expectations, is at the highest since July 2008. Then again, by now our thesis of (more than) transitory inflation can be appreciate by everyone.